Trepidation of The Red Sand
by Geneticwolf1254
Summary: Shiromaru Takani is the sole survivor of a destroyed nation, his village was assaulted by a single ninja, though hundreds of bodies rained from the sky. It was the work of a single man, a young ninja in his prime with hair as red as the blood he spilled across the nation. A single, dust covered man who commanded an entire army of puppets
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_Two women sat atop a cliffside, the waterfall beside them, a forest behind, but below them was the burnt ruins of a village. The shattered remains of a home for hundreds of people was now reduced to little more than rubble. It took nothing more than a simple nod and the two shinobi dispersed towards either side of remains.__As they wandered the broken village it was clear that there had been a great battle, blood, weapons, corpses, and severed limbs coated the streets and covered the rooftops. In a single night the country had been destroyed, and now the remnants were burning away. "Mei!" A girl's voice rang out, "We have a survivor!"__The shinobi headed towards her partner. When she arrived she saw her crouched above a young boy, not much more than a toddler. The boy's limbs were trembling, eyes wide and tears had left tracks through the dirt and blood covering his face and arms. He couldn't be more than five years old, and seemed to be in a lot of pain. "He's the only one, and he needs medical attention. What do you want to do?" Asked the other ninja.__"Let's take him back. Our mission is finished anyway." The masked girl answered as she retrieved the boy into her arms.__Two days later saw the three back safely to the Village Hidden in the Mist. The small survivor they brought back was thankfully only injured by a few sebon to his chest and arms. Possible that he had tried to protect himself. After a couple of nights in the infirmary and he was well enough for interrogation.__"So, this is him? The boy the Terumi Sisters brought in?" Asked a small, green haired boy with bright pink eyes. Lord Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage.__The young boy was sat stiffly in his chair. Unsure of what to do he looked around him and tried not to make eye contact. His brown hair was short and spiky and his vision was still a little blurry from waking up, but he could tell he was in a small dark room with a couple of other people.__"Who are you?" He asked.__The man with green hair sat down in front of the child. "My name is Yagura, I'm the Mizukage. Do you know what that means?" He asked calmly. His voice was soft, but anyone who knew Yagura understood that that softness wouldn't last long. Sadly for young Shiro it didn't last very long at all.__It took nearly a week of constant, intense interrogation before Yagura was convinced of the boy's innocence. It was only after there was nothing left for the child to give that he decided to allow him residence in the mist village. On the condition he serve it well, of course._

*Three years later

A tall, burly instructor stood before the desk of the Fourth Mizukage as he gave his report on his class. "Our top student is Nozawa Hemato, he far outstrips everyone else in the class and, if we can find a way to channel his aggression, I believe he will be an excellent addition to our rank after he completes his training. Next, we have Takani Shiromaru, he has shown significant improvement in the three years we have had him. He works hard and focuses on improvement." Here he sighed and rubbed his face. "He would honestly be a perfect student if he didn't lose his mind around Nozawa." He shook his head, "A few more for your notice would be Koturo Hibaki, Hozuki Maigestu, Kizo Toruko, and Mokime Lei. Their files are all at the top with the other graduate hopefuls." The instructor finished.

Yagura nodded. "Hemato is another adopted orphan correct? I believe he was found by the Demon Brothers close to our border. Set him and Shiro together with someone who will even them out." The Mizukage stated as he read through the other file. He brought one to the top. "The Hozuki girl, that is our Mangetsu's sister is she not?" He didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "Put her with the boys, maybe those savages can toughen her up a little." He decided.

Meanwhile, most of their students were just waking up, including Shiro who had fallen asleep in the field after a night of intense training in preparation of his graduation exam. He quickly stood up and began walking towards the school. In every aspect Shiro was average, at exactly four feet tall and 55 lbs, with spiky brown hair, brown eyes and a slim figure he certainly wasn't very impressive to look at. He wasn't ugly though, at least he didn't think so. His clothes weren't impressive either but he was comfortable and liked them. He wore a simple black, long sleeve shirt with a cloth wrapping around his stomach, black pants and simple black ninja shoes. On his waist was a small scroll tied in with the cloth wrapping to keep it secure.

When he arrived at the academy he walked straight to his classroom and sat at his desk, picking a small spinning top out of his pocket and spinning it with his fingers. He watched it dance along his desk for a moment before pouring chakra from his finger tip towards the toy, quickly coating the object with chakra. He was careful to maintain a perfect balance, too much chakra and the toy would spin out of control, or possibly break, but without enough it would stop spinning. This was a fairly simple exercise he usually practiced in class when he was bored, though it was becoming dull and boring he did like to keep himself busy.

The other students slowly started pouring in and Shiro kept a very close eye on them, smirking softly, waiting for his moment. _THERE!_ A flash of red hair just in the entrance to the class and he sent the spinning top flying through the air towards the boy. _Smack! _The metal edge of the top smacked right into the boy's forehead. "SHIROMARU YOU BASTARD!" The red haired boy exclaimed loudly as he pushed through the others in the classroom, a gash across his forehead and blood dripping down his head. It wasn't a serious wound but enough to get his point across.

"What's the problem redhead? Got a headache?" Shiro mocked him as the boy rushed towards them, grabbing Shiro by the collar of his shirt.

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT I GOT A HEADACHE YOU HALF PINT!" Yelled the slightly larger, more athletic boy.

Before Shiro could respond or situations could escalate, a loud voice rang through the class. "Hemato! Shiro! Quit fighting and get in your seats!" Exclaimed the hulking mass of muscle that was the academy instructor, Rito Ikoba.

The students grumbled before all settling in their seats. "As you all know, today is your graduation exam, as such we're going to have a couple of guests joining us, it's your job to impress them." The teacher explained.

As he finished speaking in walked three ninja, Mangetsu Hozuki, Mei Terumi and the fourth Mizukage Yagura. The class was stunned silent. Most students had never met Yagura in person, only heard stories of his bloodlust and of how terrible he could be. Almost as impressive as Yagura were the two guards next to him. Mangetsu was said to be one of the strongest ninja in the village's history, capable of wielding all seven of the hidden mist's legendary swords. Most thought such a feat would be impossible and next to him was Mei Terumi, a woman of astounding beauty and even more astounding strength, a woman capable of using lava style jutsu to burn her opponents away.

"Now now Rito, no need to be so angry. I'm sure your students will be just fine." Spoke the woman with fiery red hair, emerald green eyes and a form fitting blue dress.

Yagura nodded. "The children will be fine, but it's time to get out of this dusty classroom. This year we're trying a new exam, something more competitive." He told the class sternly, though he was hardly taller than most of the class pre-teens, his presence was certainly more intimidating.

Yagura wasted no time in making his departure from the building, Mangetsu followed behind him, but Mei halted. "We'll be waiting at training field 3, please gather your things and meet us there. Lord Mizukage is quite proud of this test, it's taken three years for him to get approval from the village elders on this." She warned before leaving to catch up with the two men.

The class quickly got up, gathering the few items they had and followed their teacher out of the building. As the class walked a girl with long, black hair spoke up. "Rito-sensei, I thought Lord Mizukage controlled everything, so why did it take him three years to change our exam?" The girl asked curiously, though it was clear the other students were wondering the same thing.

The teacher sighed. "Lord Yagura is a strong but firm leader, many people thinks he takes things too far and because of this and our village's past the elders decided years ago that there should be a council to determine certain actions including changing graduation exams, for the past couple years Miss Terumi has been the head of this council, but as a majority it seems the council has decided to side with Yagura's idea to toughen up our candidates a bit. You guys are lucky enough to be the guinea pigs for his test." Rito explained while trying to keep a neutral standpoint.

Training field 3 wasn't far from the academy, and was surprisingly nice, if a little murky. Field may have been over stating it a bit however, it had little grass and was mostly dirt and mud with a small body of water in the center and a few dark trees and boulders scattered across the land. Standing in front of the pond were the three guests that were to supervise the event. Yagura again stood in the center of the three, the two taller figures looking far more imposing compared to the childlike boy between them. Seeing the class waiting in front of the trio Yagura spoke up again. "Today's test will not be easy, and though the three of us and your teacher will be here as supervisors you should understand that we will not interfere unless absolutely necessary. That being said, Mangetsu will now explain the test itself." The Mizukage spoke calmly but with great pride in his voice.

Mangetsu stepped forward, holding up two scrolls. "You will all be set into groups of three, each team will be given a scroll, red or blue. To pass your team must collect both scrolls and keep them by until the time limit is reached. When the alarm rings at noon, only the teams that have both the water and fire scroll will graduate, if none of the teams possess both scrolls by the end of the time limit you all fail." He said simply.

The group of students were surprised, nearly stunned silent as Mei began to speak. "The rules for this test are simple. You may use any weapons you currently have, you must stay within the training grounds and finally, you must not kill your opponents." She said simply as she set a clock on a nearby rock before continuing. "The teams will now be read aloud, when your name is called head towards Mangetsu with your team and collect your scroll."

Shiro sighed softly. This would be exhausting. At best only half of us can pass, and with there only being four teams it's a guarantee that we'll be facing two other squads. Our best shot is playing defensive. He thought to himself. "And finally squad four, Shiromaru Takani, Hemato Nozawa, and Maigetsu Hozuki." Rito read aloud.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" Yelled out Hemato in anguish. "I have to team with the class clown AND the quiet girl? Might as well be out on my own." He exclaimed.

Shiro rolled his eyes. "Your the only clown around here Hemato, and you should be grateful to have such talent on your side." Shiro replied as the two walked towards Mangetsu.

Their third teammate, an older girl with shoulder length white hair and light green eyes were waiting for them. She had a slim figure and wore a pair of black skinny jeans and a matching long sleeve black shirt. She seemed nice enough in class, though had never been very social with anybody. "Be careful sis, remember your a Hozuki, that means no weakness." He said as he handed the girl a blue scroll before glaring at the two boys.

The look in his eyes made it clear that he expected them to protect her, but that point was made even clearer by the sheer amount of bloodlust that exuded from him. Neither of the young boys were prepared for it and to them it felt almost as if all the air had been sucked from their lungs and their blood stood still for only but a moment before the white haired man smiled. "Good luck, try not to get beat too badly." The man told them, the smile on his face clearly full of sarcasm.

With that the group of academy students walked away, heading to a boulder on the south western corner of the training grounds. The group hardly had a chance to speak before Yagura yelled for the test to begin, and suddenly the four adults disappeared.

Hemato was prepared for this and dashed forward immediately. Shiro groaned aloud. "That jackass!" He yelled looking back at Mai, thankful she had stayed back. "Stay still and keep a tight hold on the scroll." He ordered.

Hemato had run directly into the opposing group with the fire scroll armed with a kunai knife. The three members appeared to have the same idea as the three of them rushed directly towards him. He dodged a strike from the foe on the left, ducking just under the punch as he shoved his shoulder into the stomach of the enemy on his right shoving him back onto the ground. He then quickly spun on his heels and struck his attacker in the left side of his temple with his right hand. The center opponent was able to take advantage of this moment however and struck Hemato in the back of the head before quickly sweeping his legs out from underneath him with a low kick causing him to fall on his face.

This would be a short lived victory for the opposing team however. Before they could take advantage of the situation they were attacked by a hail of shuriken. For the three of them it was unbelievable, it seemed to be never ending and they could hardly keep track of them. Every passing second was another slash, a cut on the leg, a slash on the arm, slices on the back and chest. Every cut was unpredictable, between the cloth, blood splatters and bits of flesh flying around they could hardly see each other, let alone the seemingly endless amount of weapons flying towards them.

To those outside of that small group however it was evident that there were not endless weapons, in total there were ten shuriken flying towards them, then coming back, then again, and again and again. Ten shuriken constantly flying by, circling the three enemies as Shiro stood a few feet away. Every twitch of his finger sent a weapon flying at his foe, he was careful though, he had to be as he sliced them down. Back, left leg, right arm, achilles heel, nape, chest. With every thought he flicked his fingers, cutting his opponents down more and more as he stepped forward hearing their wails of pain, knowing that by now they would be weak, suffering from blood loss and muscle tears, weakness. "As much as I'd love to watch the three of you attack my idiotic teammate, I'm afraid i am going to have to take your scroll for now, but don't be too sad. You didn't have a chance at victory anyway." Shiro mocked as he pulled his hands back and they now blood-stained shuriken floated around him.

The three foes fell to the ground, one managing to stay on a bent knee. "Thats a dirty trick to pull on a classmate." He groaned, tilting his head to the floor in defeat.

Hemato jumped to his feet and struck the foe with a quick kick to the right temple, knocking him to the floor unconscious. "I didn't need your help." He told Shiro.

The conversation was cut short however as Mai screamed. Two enemies were next to her. Toruko Kizo and Lei Mokumei, two of the more capable fighters in class. With a flick of his wrist Shiro sent half his shuriken flying towards the opponents only to have them blocked by Lei, a fast kunoichi with great swordsmanship. Hemato grabbed the fire scroll from the fallen team and raced forward once again.

As Hemato clashed kunai with Lei, Mai was hardly able to dodge Tokuro's fierce attacks. Shiro saw the girl struggling and grabbed the small scroll from his side. "I really didn't want to use this." He muttered as he ran towards the girl, allowing the shuriken to fall behind him as sweat began to form on his brow. "Summoning jutsu: Kuro Komori!" He exclaimed as he tossed the scroll in the air.

With a puff of smoke a small, black bat appeared above Shiro and quickly followed behind him. Extending from Shiro's fingertips were thin blue lines that connected to separate parts of the bat. The bat flew past Shiro heading straight towards Mai. It passed over her and its stomach opened up, dropping a small ball that upon hitting the ground began exuding a large amount of smoke. Shiro stood just outside the smoke cloud, waiting as Mai stumbled out. "Thank you! I can't believe you saved me!" She exclaimed.

Shiro smiled and nodded. "Your welcome Tokuro." He said cockily before the bat, now floating in the smoke just behind Mai, opened its mouth and let loose a hail of senbon needles directly into the girl's back.

She gasped out in pain and with a puff of smoke Tokuro was revealed, standing in her place but unable to move. Shiro tilted his head mockingly "Didn't think i could tell the difference?" He asked teasingly as he heard the bell ring.

"Teams four and one has passed the final exam!" Yelled Rito as the four shinobi returned to the field with a small squad of medical ninja.

Shiro let out a sigh of relief before falling to one knee, his bat crashing down to the floor as the blue strings faded away. He took a deep breath before standing up, he hadn't realized how quickly time had passed. By some miracle he'd managed to win and do so without injury. He walked towards the supervisors and, alongside his other teammates and team one, he waited for them to speak.

"Mai Hozuki, Shiro Takani, Hemato Nozawa, Ibuki Yamata, Rei Fuzuka and Hiyori Momaka, you not only passed the test but were able to do it with flying colors. Team 4, you displayed incredible combat capabilities and were able two defeat most of your enemies with minimal damage. Team one, your teamwork and patience were incredible, by waiting for the perfect opportunity you were able to easily overpower your opponents and take the scroll. For this, both your teams will move on to become genin and register as ninja of the hidden mist village." Said Mei with a soft smile.

"Tomorrow the two of you are to meet your new team leaders in front of the academy, until then here are your headbands." Mangetsu told the group, holding out the village forehead protectors for the groups.

After receiving their honorary headbands the two teams departed and went home to rest for the evening.

**Chapter 1 end**


	2. Chapter 2

**Trepidation of the Red Sand Chapter 2.**

The Mizukage, a man the size of a boy named Yagura sat behind his desk. A tall, slender man with white hair stood beside him with a large sword on his back. Across from them stood a stout, muscular man and a girl with bright red hair. "The boys, they have high scores but push themselves too far, and that Hozuki girl. She seems to understand the studies well enough, but she doesn't practice." The woman spoke.

Mangetsu spoke up. "Mai-chan is a pacifist. She doesn't like to fight, but I can assure you that her talent is unparalleled under the right circumstances. She might not like combat, but when she has to, well, I think she'll surprise you Riku." He replied with a small measure of pride for his little sister.

The Mizukage glanced at the man beside himself, "Mangetsu has promised me that I will not be disappointed." He responded.

The muscular man, academy teacher Ikoba Rito, shook his head. "I just don't see what you're expecting from her and Shiro. I thought the entire purpose of this squad was to find suitable holders for the next generation of the Swordsmen. Nozawa is a clear candidate, but the other two-" He cut himself short at the glares from the rest of the room.

Sensing the hostility in the room, the man stayed quiet until the woman in red, Riku, spoke again. "Shiro is the most concerning. You say he used a puppet and controlled his weapons using chakra threads, the villagers won't respond well to that. His entire offense goes against that of our usual ninja. They'll likely demand his transfer, if not an execution." She warned.

Yagura smirked. "I think it'll be interesting to see how he does. Imagine, if he were to pass your little test the Mist could have its very own puppet user." He chuckled at the thought.

"And the very next day his corpse will be hung out on a limb for all to see." Mangetsu sighed.

The next morning Hemato, Maigetsu, and Shiromaru sat out in front of the Academy doors. The three didn't speak to each other much at all. Instead, they sat in tense silence until a woman in red stood before them. A slender sword was tied to a wire wrapped thinly around her waist and her long, fiery hair was tied in a braid going down her back. She had cloth wrappings around her left bicep and fishnet stockings going up her leg stopping just before the hem of her dress at her mid-thigh. "My name is Terumi Riku, I'll be leading you from now on. You'll do what I say when I say it. I won't tolerate any backtalk or any bullshit, is that understood?" She snapped at the young group in front of her.

They all looked up at her with a mixture of fear and admiration, but her annoyance was clear on her face. "I asked you a question!" She snapped again.

The three nodded before Hemato smiled up at her. "We heard you, I just didn't expect my first team leader to hold the legendary sewing needle." He remarked with a toothy grin.

The woman grimaced at him. "You recognize my sword? Smart boy. Tell me about yourself, all of you." She said in response as she looked them over.

"You first, Sensei." Shiro requested.

She let out a sigh. "My name is Terumi Riku, I'm the former head of Kirigakure's interrogation unit, two-time Tracker Captain and current holder of one of our village's sacred seven swords, the legendary blade Sewing Needle. I am twenty-eight years old and you little shitlins will be my first team as a jounin leader." She informed them, voice filled with pride. Her history was enough to make even the most experienced shinobi fear her and was certainly impressive enough to scare a couple of kids, but Shiro didn't flinch or shudder or show any fear at all. "Now you, little guy." She ended by pointing directly at Shiro.

He looked down for a minute before picking his head back up. "Well, my name's Takani Shiromaru, but most people just call me Shiro. I'm eight years old and spend most of my time studying. I don't really know what else to say." The young boy admitted. He wouldn't risk saying much more.

Next was his rival who seemed ready to explode. "MY NAME IS HEMATO NOZAWA!" He exclaimed as he jumped up aggressively, furious about not getting the first introduction. "I'm 10 years old, a master of close combat and one day I will be known as the most powerful shinobi in the world! I am going to be greater than Uchiha Madara!" He yelled, stunning the entire group into silence for a few moments.

"You're an idiot kid. Girl, speak, and don't hold back. Your brother told me all about you." Riku spoke, her voice dry with boredom.

The girl tilted her head in response. "My name is Hozuki Maigetsu, I'm twelve years old." She mumbled before taking a deep breath. "I'm not very good at fighting." She admitted quietly.

Their leader nodded in response. "Each of you have ideals and goals. Whatever those goals are is none of my concern even if you choose to broadcast it to the world. Simple fact is that I learned more from your files than I did from any of your introductions. You lot have a great deal of potential and I wish to see it for myself, so tonight you'll have your first mission and I suggest you come prepared. If you fail this mission I'll make sure you're all dropped from the program." The older woman said with a very commanding tone before continuing. "Bring whatever weapons you want, eat well and meet me at Training Field 4. That will be our designated training area from this point forward." She finished.

The children looked up at her curiously but it was Maigetsu who spoke up. "What will our mission be Riku-sensei?" She asked softly.

The smile on the woman's face was unnerving as she spoke. "Well now that would ruin the fun, you three just remember to meet me in Training Field 4 at exactly 8 o'clock." She dismissed them before she turned and strutted away.

The rest of the squad didn't bother waiting around and each left individually. The boys couldn't stand one another and Maigetsu was too quiet to ask them to walk with her, so the group set off.

Shiro wasted little time on the walk to his house. Tonight would be his first mission, he had to be prepared. He locked the door quickly after he arrived. It wouldn't do much for a shinobi, but the civilian neighbors weren't the type to be trusted. His home was fairly small, not even that much larger than an apartment, but he found a way to use nearly every inch of it. The walls were once bright blue, but over the years they had faded slightly, the trim was a golden color that the former owner must have applied himself if the small paint drops were to say anything.

He looked around to make sure everything was as he left it. After he assured himself it all looked like his mess he sighed and walked through his small living area and picking up his bowl from his earlier breakfast. He had left on the small table beside his couch when he rushed to get ready that morning. What he could see of his bedroom looked the same as he passed, all the same blue walls, cluttered wooden dolls and bright green bed covers.

After cleaning up his dish Shiro moved to his bedroom, slightly tidying up toys and wooden figures as he went before sitting down at his workstation. He looked at some of the pieces he had atop it. A little dog, a small cat, and a green, yellow and red painted parakeet statue. He was proud of the bird, the coloring on it was perfect and had taken weeks to perfect. He would need to start a new project soon, but wasn't sure what to do. Maybe he could try his hand at a person next, he could try a do a figure of Hemato and use it for practice. In fact…

Three hours after starting his new project Shiro put the unfinished figure away with a smile and set about preparing a quick meal of cup noodles and sharpening his weapons. He didn't have many so he made sure to keep them is the best shape he could. It made him nervous that he didn't know what to expect, he couldn't prepare if he didn't know what he was going up against. It was to be expected though, a shinobi needed to be able to think on his feet. He could do this.

Maigetsu had already been there when Shiro arrived, his expression was calm and serious as he approached his new teammate. Maigetsu visibly smiled as she saw him and he wondered how long she waited. Where are her supplies? Is she hiding her kunai in her sleeves? He couldn't see anything noticeable at first glance. "Where's Hemato?" He asked her as his eyes scanning the field.

The training field they were in was mostly wooded with a small clearing, in it were a few practice dummies and an old shed, presumably for storage. There was no sign of their third teammate or their leader yet. "He's not here yet, neither is Riku-sensei." She answered as she sat down next to a tree. "Do you think she'll really drop us from the program?" Maigetsu asked concerned.

She had asked the question that had been plaguing him all day, the fact the his future and all of his plans might rest on others instead of just his own abilities. He was concerned and didn't want to think about it. "What do you think of this team?" Shiro evaded, his eyes focused on the sky above.

She tilted her head in response. "This team?" She asked before thinking for a few moments, "I think it's going to be a massive headache for everyone." She finally replied with a sigh.

Shiro's nod and chuckled as he voiced his agreement. "Yeah, you're not wrong on that one."

They heard movement and turned towards the entrance to see Hemato walking up to them. He carried a small blade strapped around his back, clearly some type of shortsword that he hadn't had before. "You two are early, making plans or just wasting time?" He taunted.

Maigetsu stayed quiet as Shiro spoke up. "Hard to make a plan for a mission you know nothing about, led by someone you just met." He said simply, biting his tongue to try to remain civil. It was so hard to do with the idiot sometimes, but he had to learn, there were going to be others much more annoying than Hemato in the future.

"You're all late." The team jumped, none of them had heard anyone approach. Riku-sensei stood a few feet away as they turned to face the rest of the clearing. The three of them said nothing as they walked quickly towards their instructor. Riku stood still, watching and waiting as they approached.

Maigetsu started to speak, but Riku-Sensei held up her hand and she was immediately silenced. "You're late so I'll make this brief; Your mission is to go to that shed there and find the pouch that I've hidden inside. You have one hour to do find it and as a little bonus, whoever finds the pouch can keep what's inside." She told them before gesturing to a small clock on a post. "The alarm is set to go off at 9 pm, meaning you now have fifty-five minutes. I would get started." She taunted them.

Hemato quickly ran towards the shed exclaiming. "This is too easy!"

Shiro wondered at the assignment; it was too easy, nearly a full hour for them to find a small pouch. Between the three of them it couldn't take more than ten minutes to clean out the whole shed. His unspoken question was quickly answered however.

In a single moment Riku had appeared and swung her leg into Hemato's side sending him crashing into the dirt leaving a small trail in his wake. That's why she gave us so much time and told us to come prepared. He thought to himself as the woman laughed. "Oh sorry did I forget to tell you that you have to get past me? That is my pouch after all and I don't feel like letting a bunch of bratty little kids take my shit." She said as she tucked a loose hair behind her ears.

Shiro grimaced. She was stronger, faster, more experienced and likely smarter than the three students put together. It would be nearly impossible for them to win, but he didn't feel like losing either and from how quickly Hemato got back up it was clear he felt the same. Shiro spoke up, "You told us to come prepared so I'm guessing that means we don't have to worry about holding back against you." He said as he grabbed three kunai from his pouch and flung them at his teacher.

Hemato smirked and grabbed his blade. "That's right, no holds barred teach!" He yelled before sprinting towards her and Maigetsu squealed.

Riku-sensei dodged two of the kunai with no effort and grabbed the third, using it to block a quick slash from Hemato's blade. She seemed to hold the sword at bay with nearly no effort at all with nothing but the tilted blade of the kunai knife. "Aw, is that all the strength you have?" She mocked before pushing forward, nearly knocking the sword from Hemato's grip before kicking him in the stomach, causing him to bend over.

She was about to strike him again when suddenly two kunai knives flew past her, scratching her arms and catching her by surprise. She turned towards the direction the knives had come from, but there was no one there. As her back was turned the knives came flying by again and without looking she jumped over them, narrowly avoiding another slash from Hemato as she did. As the kunai flew past where she had been moments ago she grabbed two of her own and launched them downwards.

Shiro groaned as his kunai were stuck in the ground. He tried using his chakra strings to pull them out but was unable to move them even a little. Damn! Did she figure out my trick already? He wondered. He got his answer when she landed and grinned at him. "You have to do better than that." She mocked.

Shiro growled in response. He began to reach for his scroll, but she was too fast. She used the force of her landing to push against the ground and dash towards the small boy, far too fast for him to react. He was struck in the chest by her palm, hard enough to stop his breathing, before she struck him again. She knocked the scroll from his grip before lashing out with a low sweep to knock him flat on his back. "I know all about your summoning technique Gaki, so good luck getting this back." She told him as she grabbed the fallen scroll.

Shiro groaned in pain as Hemato ran towards her, he tried to slash at her but was too slow as she dodged and kneed him in the stomach and put the boy on his knees. The next kick to the ribs had him release his blade and tumble next to Shiro, coughing up blood and clearly in pain. "Come on boys, I thought you two were supposed to be tough." She taunted.

Shiro forced himself onto one knee as Hemato stayed down on all fours, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. The boys both groaned in response. They didn't get a chance to say anything more before Hemato snapped and charged for her bare-handed. Shiro followed suit.

Hemato threw a left cross and Riku-sensei dodged to the right. Shiro sent a kick flying towards her head, but she ducked under it and he only managed to strike her hair, Hemato capitalized on the moment and got a swift kick at her ribs. The kunoichi rolled to the side and was on her knee when the boys struck again. Hemato swung his leg, but she grabbed it in time, holding him back with one hand. Shiro followed with a punch, but she grabbed his hand as well and halted his attack. This time both boys saw the opportunity and were about to strike when she tightened her grip, spun and threw both of them behind herself.

They landed in front of the shed and got up with a smirk as they beheld their white-haired teammate standing between them, a small pouch in her hand. They won! Shiro pushed himself into a sitting position with a quick grin.

Riku glared at the three kids for a minute before kicking Hemato his fallen sword, a deadly look in her eyes and a fierce smile on her face. Hemato caught the sword by its handle as she spoke. "You got the pouch, and I'll congratulate you on that but.." She snickered softly before finishing, "You still have to get back."

Shiro growled. "That wasn't part of the mission!" He yelled as Maigetsu's smile faded from her victory. It wasn't fair! They did just what she told them to do! Even if all we did was distract her. Shiro thought annoyed.

Riku's face was clear as she spoke. "Coming home is a part of every mission, the details come first, but getting back home is part of your job as a shinobi. So yes, getting back was part of the mission. I didn't think I would need to specify that for Lord Yagura's elite squadron of young graduates." She replied, her quiet rage growing with every word.

Shiro groaned as he stood back up and Hemato gripped his sword tighter. "Maigetsu, stay out of my way." Hemato warned as he ran at their sensei.

Shiro followed after his comrade. Riku expected as much and stopped both boys with a strike to the stomach. They even had the same reaction as they doubled over and barfed, only to each receive an elbow to the back of the head to knock them down on all fours. Riku smiled and charged at the white-haired girl.

Maigetsu stood still as she saw her teacher coming close and, having already shoved the small pouch in her pocket, began weaving hand signs. Riku didn't bother pausing before the girl finished, swiftly moving to slam her shoulder into the girl.

Except, she wasn't there. Riku had certainly hit where she should have been, but it was like the girl dodged at the last second, yet still stood exactly where she had been! It was as if Riku had simply gone through her.

Maigetsu smiled softly before holding her hands nearly parallel to each other in front of her chest and dropped two fingers from each hand and raising her left hand above her head. "Hidden Mist Jutsu!" She yelled as a thin mist began to slowly blanket around the field, getting thicker the closer it was around her.

Riku had to admit to herself, the kids were impressive. They had no communication, but they had good rhythm and a great deal of natural talent. She wouldn't let them know that however and with a simple surge of her own chakra, she blew away the mist conjured by the girl, only to see the full team now standing back at their starting positions. They had definitely passed her expectations.

**Chapter 2 End**


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